Something Bigger
by Winter Fae
Summary: Annie has some issues with her parents and Jeff has some control issues with his clothes, but everything will be okay because Ace of Cakes is on TV and it's getting late.
1. Ace of Cakes

_Man, this felt good to write for some reason. It's set around season 4. I'm going to leave this as a "work in progress" since there is a good chance I'll add another chapter at some point. _Comments are very much appreciated, it's a really good encouragement for writers. Even if it's just one word. _Enjoy._

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><p>It was a quarter after ten when there was a knock on Jeff's apartment door.<p>

He had been hanging around in front of the TV all night, mindlessly flipping through the channels and when he heard the knock he groaned quietly to himself, praying that it wasn't the Dean on the other side of the door. Once you opened the door to that guy it was near impossible to get him to leave.

His prayers were answered when he opened the door and found Annie there instead.

He smiled when he saw her, surprised, "Hey, Annie. What's up?"

She was smiling at him a little awkwardly, eyes red, hair looking wind blown, and he knew something was wrong. "Hey, Jeff," she said quietly.

His smiled dropped and he stepped forward placing his hands on her shoulders, "What's going on? What's wrong?"

Annie let out a broken laugh, without a trace of humor to it and covered her mouth with her hand. She squeezed her eyes shut and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Jeff's eyes widened and he was immediately on high alert, pulling Annie to him, tucking her up in his arms and holding tightly, "Hey, hey, it's okay." Her shoulders jerked with every shaky breath she took and Jeff pulled back for just a second to move them inside his apartment, shutting the door. The last thing Annie needed was the Dean hearing them and coming out to investigate.

Once in he wrapped his arms around her again, rubbing her back. "Tell me what's going on," he said softly. He wasn't use to her being so quiet, her crying soft and muffled. He use to shy away from situations like this, but now-a-days he was better at comforting people. Not always successful, but at least he knew how to make an effort.

He felt her shake her head against his chest and she took a step back, her hands covering her face for a second. "I'm sorry, Jeff," she said, wiping her eyes and then wringing her hands in front of her, not meeting his eyes, "I didn't call first and I know I should have. It was wrong of me to just show up like this, I'm sorry." Annie looked at him then with remorse and he wanted to laugh at how unnecessary her worry was.

Jeff waved his hand to the side, "No, hey, I don't care. I just want to know what's going on. Something happened; are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?" The idea hit him hard and he stepped forward again grabbing her shoulders looking her hard in the eyes.

Annie's brow lowered in a frown, and she shook her head, "No one hurt me, per se." She reached up placing her hands on his forearms, trying to calm him down.

Jeff wasn't convinced but he lowered his arms and waited for her to explain.

She started quietly, "I was at my parents house," already Jeff knew this was going to be bad, "They wanted to have supper and it was fine at first, like always. But then they started asking me about every little detail of my life; how's college going? Have you finally found new friends outside of your silly little study group? Still haven't settled on a major? Have you met anyone? No? What a shame. Please tell us you're not still living with those two _boys_. Thank heavens though that you don't have to ride that bus to your school anymore. Have you been looking for a job at least?" Her tone turned cold and angry by the end but her chin started to quiver as well, "I am so...tired of being my parents' biggest disappointment."

"Aw, Annie," Jeff breathed out and before he could say anything more she kept going.

"And sprinkled in between all that loving support, they constantly brought up all the people in my life that actually have it all together. My cousin who just left for New York to study architecture and my aunt and uncle's floral busy that is just simply _thriving,_" she rolled her eyes and wiped at her cheeks in anger. "Even the stupid neighbors kid down the street that's studying to be a doctor! I couldn't take it anymore. I just got up and stormed off. I didn't even grab my purse! That's why I didn't call. All my stuff is still sitting in their living room." She looked down at the ground dejected and her shoulders sunk even lower.

A thought hit him then, "Wait—how did you get here?"

Annie looked up at him through her lashes, "I walked."

Jeff's jaw dropped in shock, "What the—" Shaking his head, Jeff lead Annie over to the couch and sat her down, "I understand you were pissed, and with every right, but you should have gone back to get your keys at least. I can't believe you walked all the way across town in the dark." Jeff rubbed his eyes with his fingertips, not liking one bit the thought of her walking around town this late at night. He didn't trust the crazy people that chose to live here.

Annie was looking down at her hands in her lap, still silently crying, "I just couldn't," she looked at him sadly, "I'm sorry."

Guilt smacked him in the face and he sat down hard on the couch next to her, "Don't apologize," he said and sighed, giving her a sheepish half smile, "I was just worried. And I'm glad nothing happened on the walk here." His chest felt tight looking at her. He's never seen her this sad and he didn't like it. This was not his Annie. His was bright and full of freaking sunshine and always smiling at him with eyes sparkling like a damn fairy-tale princess. Ever since he met her he's not been able to handle an upset Annie. It was just wrong and bad for the universe and it always threw everything out of whack. He had to fix the damage her parents did.

"They have zero right to be disappointed in you, Annie," Jeff said with conviction. "I have half a mind to storm over there and give 'em a piece of my mind."

Annie's eyes widened and she grabbed his arm like she was afraid he'd spring up off the couch, "No! Please don't do that. I can't even imagine how poorly that would go."

Jeff tilted his head to the side, squinting his eyes and imagining what it would be like to do just that, "No...no, I think it would be pretty great actually." He looked back at her, "But I won't. You and I both know that you're the most hard working student that Greendale has and they should be damn proud of everything you've done so far. Hell, I'm sure half of us wouldn't have passed any of our classes without you to guide us back on track and whip us into shape. Myself included."

He could see Annie give a small smile at that.

"Yeah, so you made a few mistakes in the past; who hasn't? Your parents are the ones that are disappointing, still judging you for those mistakes. They should be there for you, through the good and bad. And it's their problem, Annie, that they're not doing their damn job." He was pissed to be quite honest. How dare her parents treat her like crap? This wan't the first time that he's heard of their less than stellar treatment of their daughter. Every so often Annie would make a throwaway comment about parents and how they should be loving and understand, not judgmental and cold, and each time he heard it his dislike for them grew, even without having met them.

She was looking at him now, her eyes still shining but she looked a little less down so he counted it as a plus.

"And who needs them? You have a family, remember?" He gave her a winning smile, knocking his shoulder gently into hers, and grabbing one of her hands in the process, "And you're kinda stuck with us, so—"

_There it was._ Annie laughed and her smile reached her eyes this time. Jeff tried not to look too smug, but he mentally gave himself a pat on the back regardless. A little late, Jeff grabbed a kleenex off the coffee table and handed it to her. It felt good to watch her dry her eyes and put herself back together, knowing that he had a part in it. He was a better man now then he was a few years ago. The Jeff back then would have made a situation like this ten times worse or would have shut the door in her face all together. To say that Jeff felt a bit of shame thinking about his past actions was a vast understatement. Annie had always pushed for him to be the better man and make the right choices and he's glad for it. Because if she hadn't, he wouldn't be sitting with her now, being the one to put that smile back in it's rightful place.

Annie took a deep breath and let it out slowly and he could almost see the giant weight lift off of her. Her lips tilted to the side in the sweetest way and she gave his hand a squeeze, "Thank you, Jeff. And you're right; you're my family now. And the rest of the study group. Your guys' opinion of me should be the one that matters."

"And it's a pretty high opinion, so I think you're safe for now," he teased.

"No doubt, but one wrong move and all of you will make me fully aware of it," Annie said, rolling her eyes playfully.

Jeff grimaced, "Ehh, yeah. Sorry about that, we are a bunch of crazy people. But crazy people who care." Jeff tilted his head and put his hand on the side of her face in a cheesy show of affection.

Annie laughed, "I'm surprisingly 100% okay with that. I would pick you guys over my parents any day of the week."

Jeff chuckled. "Damn right," he said, relaxing back into the couch. He watched as she settled in next to him but frowned down at her feet.

"Is it okay if I take my shoes off? My feet are killing me." She gave him an apologetic look and Jeff rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Annie, what kind of household do you think I keep here? The first thing I do when I step through that door is kick my shoes off. Of course you can take your shoes off." He laughed a bit as he watched her toe her flats off with a look of pure relief on her face. "Better?"

She actually moaned a bit, "You have no idea." She stretched her legs out and rest her feet up on the coffee table, wiggling her toes.

It was adorable. And kind of sexy.

_Damn her and her black tights._ Jeff grabbed the remote that had dropped to the ground when he had gotten up to get the door. He focused back on the TV, still seeing her toes curl and flex in his line of sight. He flipped through the channels till he stopped at an old rerun of Ace of Cakes.

Annie gasped beside him, "Ohh! I loved this show. I had always wished that someday someone would order me one of their cakes. Something crazy, like a hot air balloon!" His Annie was back in full swing and Jeff felt like he could truly settle down and relax now.

"I'd like to see them try to suspend something like that," he said, smiling at her enthusiasm.

"I know, right! I'd order it just to see if they could pull it off. They could though. Duff is amazing." Annie smiled and nodded her confidence in the chef, crossing her arms and leaning back further into the couch.

Jeff kicked his feet up on the coffee table next to hers and they spent the next few hours watching the late night reruns of the show and debating what cakes they could pull off and what ones would fail.

Crisis averted for the night: 1 point to Winger.

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><p>At some point during the night Jeff had gotten up and made them some popcorn which they had powered through in record time and now were both yawning off and on with Annie leaning heavily into Jeff's shoulder.<p>

Annie shot up, startled like she had dozed off for a second, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. It's late I should...I should go."

Jeff looked at her like she was nuts, "Are you kidding me? It's 1am."

Tucking her hair behind her ears she looked at him questioningly, "Well, do I just stay here?"

"Duh," he said in an annoying voice, laughing when she pursed her lips and frowned at him. "I figured you would from the start. I'm too tired to drive you anywhere and I'm sure as hell not letting you walk. You can have my room," he said waving his arm towards his bedroom door.

Annie's mouth dropped open a bit, "I couldn't possibly take your room, the couch is just fine."

"No, really, you take the bed and I'll take the couch." Dismissing her offer like it was nothing. And it wasn't. Jeff had no problem giving it up to her and it had nothing to do with the enticing image that was taking shape in his mind of her snuggled up in his comforter, in his bed.

"Jeff, don't be silly, I'm the guest and the guest gets the couch." She held her hands out like the discussion was over and that was final.

But Jeff was stubborn and he wasn't going lay down easy...figuratively speaking. In a quick move he shoved her forward a little bit, making her huff out a breath in disbelief, and laid stretched out on the couch behind her, pulling himself further down the other end and kicking his legs up on the cushions. "See? Problem solved," he said folding his hands behind his head.

In his move he had pushed Annie off the couch and she was standing over him, "You're joking right? Look at you. You can barely fit. Your feet hang off the end by a foot!" She had her hands on her hips now, giving a pointed look down at his feet that really were hanging off the other end.

"Well dammit, Annie, I'm not letting you sleep on the couch. I'm trying to be a good person, remember? And I'm pretty sure a good guy wouldn't let a lady sleep on a crappy couch."

Annie had that look on her face like she thought he was adorable. He rolled his eyes and got up to stand in front of her, "We could share."

"What?" she questioned, startled..

"The bed. We could share." Before she could freak out he place one hand over his heart and raised the other next to his head, "I swear, nothing untoward would happen. I just think it's silly to argue about this when I have a bed big enough for the both of us in the other room."

He could see the blush spreading across her cheeks and Jeff took a moment to really think about what he had just suggested.

To share a bed.

With Annie Edison.

_Well damn,_ Jeff thought, his heart picking up an extra beat, _didn't really think that one through._ It would be find, he could handle sleeping next to her in his bed. There was nothing wrong with two friends sharing a bed, nothing wrong at all. Except these two friends had a weird history of kissing and lingering looks and sexual tension that Jeff had been pushing away for longer than he would be willing to admit out loud.

Jeff mentally shook his head, not wanting his own internal freak out to show on his face and in turn cause Annie to freak out. He gave her a crooked smile, laughing a little, "Come on, work with me here. I'm trying to compromise."

Annie looked torn, but slowly smiled and looked up at him shyly, "Are you sure it's okay?"

He mimed crossing his heart and it just made her smile more. "I wouldn't offer if it wasn't."

She pursed her lips, nodding her head once, "Okay. Yeah, we can share."

They stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do now. Jeff finally just reached down for the remote and shut the TV off, "Do you, uh, need anything before bed? Like a glass of water or something?"

Annie shook her head, wringing her hands, "No, I'm good, thank you."

Jeff took in her outfit of tights, skirt and blouse; the normal attire for her. "Here, I'll get you something to wear," he said without thinking and went to his bedroom.

Jeff stood in front of his dresser and raked his hands through his hair, gripping it tight, "What the hell, Winger?" he said to himself quietly.

The thing was, Jeff had never let another woman wear his clothes before. Boxers, socks, and heaven forbid, his button ups; nothing. Once, Slater had tried putting on one of his shirts in the morning and as Jeff walked back into his bedroom and saw her in the process of putting it on, he had ripped it right off her arms without a second thought. He made a lame excuse about needing to do laundry and quickly threw it into his barely half full basket and made a break for the front door.

Aside from his obsessive love of clothes, he's just never liked the thought of another woman wearing his clothes. It implied a level of intimacy that he had never felt comfortable with nor wanted to experience. What next? Sharing each others silverware at dinner? Their toothbrushes? He's seen cliched examples of it on TV a dozen times and each one made him cringe in sympathy, secretly hoping the lead male would take his side on the whole clothes-sharing issue and put a stop to the nonsense.

That's why he was now having a mini freak out, standing in front of his dressing wondering what the hell he was actually doing. The thought of giving a woman his clothes made him slightly sick, but faced with the option not a minute ago of giving_ Annie_ his clothes...

He stood there waiting for the nauseous feeling to come, but it never did. Or telling Annie that his entire wardrobe was dirty and he had nothing to offer her, sorry. But he found he didn't want to do that either.

And crazy enough, _that_ was what made him panic.

Why wasn't he freaking out about the thought of her wearing his clothes? Where were his half baked schemes now on how to avoid sharing his things? _What the hell was wrong with him?_ His entire adult life he had lived with this basic principle and now it seemed like it was going up in smoke.

Jeff wasn't stupid. He knew that Annie had always had the annoying habit of making him act slightly out of character and without a doubt outside of his comfort zone. There was just something about her that affected him differently then anyone else. The thought that she would even change this deep rooted neurosis of his had never crossed his mind and it scared him a bit. Was there nothing she couldn't do when it came to him? He was honestly beginning to think not.

He had thought he had gotten a hold of his emotions concerning Annie Edison. In the beginning he had to fight the weird and definitely wrong attraction he felt for her, but that obviously didn't go over well when he decided it was a good idea to kiss her not ten minutes after another woman confessed her love for him.

It had been all down hill after that on the issue of Annie and what she did to him. Some days he felt like he had a handle on it, that she was just a younger, good friend of his that he kissed on occasion. But then other days she would catch his eye and he felt like he couldn't look away. Moments like that he tended to forget what was going on around him but he never let himself dwell on it too much. He knew that it wouldn't be good for his health letting himself get caught up in her. She was young and didn't deserve to be jaded by a man like him. He had been telling himself that for over a year now.

_Dammit._ Jeff sighed and grabbed the first pair of boxers and t-shirt he got his hands on, slamming the drawer shut. He wasn't mad at her; far from it. He was mad for letting himself slip into the Annie hole he found himself falling down.

_No, no, no,_ he told himself as he walked out of the bedroom, _I got this. It's just a friend giving another friend a change of clothes_, he lied to himself.

Annie was still standing where he left her, rocking slightly back and forth on her toes, hands behind her back. She smiled when she saw him.

He scratched the back of his head, feeling nervous like a teenager and he wanted to kick himself. "I hope this is okay," he said, handing over his clothes, feeling like he was giving her something else, something way bigger than a simple change of clothes.

She beamed at him, bouncing a bit, "Thanks, Jeff! This will be perfect," she said and made her way to the bathroom.

Jeff let out a big puff of air feeling like he was coming up from underwater. He dragged his hands down his face and headed to the kitchen to get a glass of water, his mouth dry all of a sudden. Gulping it all down he began to pace back and forth, waiting for her to be done and wondering what it will be like to actually _see_ her in his clothes. His heart rate wouldn't slow down and he rubbed his chest in irritation. _Does this happen to other people? Or am I really just a crazy person?_ he questions himself and then he hears the bathroom door open. With one last breath he turned around to look, his eyes trained on the floor at her feet.

Annie's standing there, her legs bare, rocking one leg back and forth on her toes nervously. And then Jeff really looks at the rest of her; his striped boxers peaking out from beneath his dark grey t-shirt. She's messing with the hem of the shirt, twirling it around a finger. Jeff rubbed his palms on his jean clad thighs, wondering when all the air in the room got sucked out.

All of a sudden Annie laughed quietly to herself.

The sound snapped Jeff out of his daze, "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing, I just never thought I'd be wearing a pair of Jeff Winger's boxers," she said smiling. "Was not expecting to end my night like this."

_Yeah, me neither_, he thinks on both accounts. He clears his throat, "Well, they look better on you, so I'm not complaining. Much." He smirks at her and she rolls her eyes, still smiling at him.

Jeff laughed a bit to himself, slowly calming down and relaxing again. It was the truth, that the clothes looked better on her and he was perfectly fine with that fact. Which if he were the old Jeff, that cared for no one but himself, that would not have been the case.

"I'm gonna get changed," he said walking into his room, tilting his head for her to follow, "Make yourself at home." He felt like a weight had lifted off him and it was much easier standing in front of his dresser this time, picking out a pair of lounge pants. He figured wearing what he normally wore to bed, nothing but his briefs, would freak Annie out a bit.

She was timid when she walked in the room a few steps behind him, looking around in wonder.

He smiled and walked around her to use the bathroom.

Jeff changed quick and standing there looking in the mirror, shirt off, he flexed his arms out in front of him and immediately slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh, you moron," he said to himself quietly. He got out of the bathroom still embarrassed by himself. Him and Annie were going to share a bed, _as friends_, and he needed to get the urges to impress her out of his head before he did anything stupid.

She was sitting up on the bed with her knees to her chest still looking around and taking it all in. When she saw him and his bare chest she sucked in a breath and quickly adverted her eyes, "I'm a little surprised, I have to admit."

Jeff smiled to himself not able to stop the smug feeling he got from her reaction, and flipped the lights off, leaving only the side table lamp on, "Why's that?" He crawled into bed on the other side of her.

She slid back towards the headboard and pushed the comforter down so she could slide under as well, "I just expected a more, I don't know, manly room I guess? Weights laying around, pictures of sports cars hanging on the walls or something."

Jeff huffed, "I may be all man, Annie, but I'm not a douche."

She laughed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound douchey. I like your room. It's much better than I had pictured."

"Well. Good." Less offended now that he knew she liked it better than the douchebag version she had dreamed up. He reached over and shut the lamp off and laid back down, moving around a bit to get comfortable. Annie hadn't moved an inch since she got under the covers. "It's okay to move," he said, smirking a bit in the dark.

"I–I know," she stammered out quietly.

Jeff closed his eyes relaxing into the mattress and listened to Annie's breathing. Finally he felt her move and turn on her side and he smiled to himself. He'd been doing that a lot tonight.

"Jeff?" he heard Annie whisper some time later.

"Yeah?" he answered just as low.

She was silent for a while, then, "Thank you. For tonight. It meant a lot."

Jeff rolled to his side, facing Annie in the dark, "Hey. I'll always be there for you and you're always welcome here. Even if you don't call ahead of time," his voice was soft and teasing, but he meant every word. He moved his hand towards her under the cover searching for her hand and was lucky enough to find it.

She gripped it tight and hummed a little under her breath, "Goodnight, Jeff."

Tonight had been a lot of fun, just being lazy and watching TV with her. Annie and him didn't get much time to spend with just the two of them, and it was nice to be away from the rest of the group for a night.

And she had come to him tonight—not Shirley and not Britta; but him—when she was upset and needing comfort and Jeff could admit that it was a good feeling, knowing that she had chosen him.

He closed his eyes and didn't let go of her hand.

"Goodnight, Annie."


	2. Pancakes

_So, come to find out I have other stories to add to this. No end planned so it will be kept as a 'work in progress'. Feedback in any form is always appreciated. Enjoy!_

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><p>Jeff woke up with his face mashed into Annie's shoulder.<p>

He felt like melted butter he was so relaxed. The early morning sun was shining through his curtain enough to wake him up and if it hadn't been he was sure he'd still be snoozing away. He was on his side, turned so much that he was crowding Annie's space with his cheek on her shoulder. He stayed still, not seeing a reason to move just yet if she were still asleep. Still half asleep himself, he was content to soak up the warmth she was giving off.

The events of the night before were coming back to him as he laid there. Opening his door to find her distraught and looking for a friend. The two of them literaly spending over two hours just sitting on the couch talking and watching TV. It was low key and as stress free as it could be. Things were simpler when it was just the two of them, less crazy and hectic like it could be with the rest of the group. Not that he didn't love the rest of them, because he did, but sometimes it was nice to take a break. And last night had been pretty ideal. Minus the Annie being upset because of her parents part.

And then he had given her something that he never thought he would give anyone. Jeff tilted his head back and opened his eyes to look at Annie, and he knew it was more than just the clothes she was wearing. This thing he felt for her had been growing since he met her. She was one of those things in life he just couldn't shake and he felt like it was time to stop trying so hard.

He was missing a part of himself, but it was okay; because when he looked at her he knew exactly where that piece was.

Jeff needed to take this quiet time to reign in all the things he was feeling. It wasn't new but it had definitely taken a more prominent spot in the forefront of his mind since last night and he still wasn't sure how Annie felt about him enough to let that show. Yeah, she liked him, and he thinks she always has but having a crush and actually _having feelings_ for him were two different things and he would keep his mouth shut and his hands to himself till he knew for sure.

That didn't mean he couldn't enjoy this now though. Slowly, he reached his hand up from under the cover and ran the back of one finger very lightly on the skin of her arm, below the shoulder he was leaning on, where her skin appeared past the sleeve. Her skin was soft and sleep warm. She was sound asleep, her face smooth and peaceful and the skin around her eyes no longer red like they had been last night.

Her dark hair was spread out against his pillow and she had her other arm thrown up above her head as she lay on her back. It was a bit scary how badly he wanted to wake up like this every morning, and all it took was one time to know that as fact.

In the back of his mind Jeff knew he was a little bit screwed but he decided to just close his eyes again and relax his head back on Annie's shoulder and he was asleep again in minutes.

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><p>He woke up for good the next time when Annie had turned on her side facing him. He could tell by the little puffs of air he could feel on his hair. When he cracked his eyes open he saw Annie curled towards him, higher up on the bed then he was, with her face resting on his pillow. All he could see of her was her neck.<p>

Jeff smirked and started blowing air towards her, moving the hair that was in front of him to tickle her exposed neck. After a second she twitched a bit so he blew again till her hand came flying up in the general direction of the irritant but missing the mark a little and smacking his chin instead.

He let out a sound halfway between a groan and a laugh rubbing the offended part of his face and Annie raised her head up surprised by the noise.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" she said, her voice still quiet and groggy from sleep. She covered her face with her hand and fell heavily back on her pillow.

Jeff just laughed and said good morning and rubbed the grit from his eyes, "I was just messing with you."

He heard her laugh quietly and give a sarcastic, _Thanks_.

Jeff raised his arms, grunting in satisfaction as he stretched them out above his head. "How'd you sleep?" he asked through a yawn as he brought his arms back down.

"Surprisingly well. I slept the whole night through which I didn't expect to do. I thought it would be too uncomfortable," Annie said, laughing a little sheepishly.

Jeff turned to her, "Well I am a great sleeping partner," he said giving her a super exaggerated wink.

He laughed when she snorted and smacked his arm, "Oh, shut up. It's just because your bed is way comfier than mine. I'm a little jealous." She rolled to her back and bounced a bit for emphasis. She sighed in pleasure, "Yeah, definitely jealous."

"Well," Jeff didn't let himself think about it too much before he finished, "Mi casa es su casa. If you ever find yourself in need of a bed to sleep in, I'm always available. My bed, that is. Is available. If you need it." Maybe he shouldn't have spoken without thinking. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers, "Just...you know what I mean," he finished in frustration and a bit of embarrassment.

Annie laughed next to him and she rested her hand on his forearm, "I know what you mean, and I'll definitely keep it in mind for the future." Jeff turned his head to look at her. "Really, I appreciate it, Jeff." She had her sweet little sincere smile on and he gave her a grin, thankful that she didn't let that stay awkward.

"Yeah, no problem. Hey, you want to get breakfast? I was thinking of trying that little place––" He was interrupted by his phone going off from his nightstand. He reached over to snag it and saw that it was Abed, "Odd."

"Hello?" he answered, looking over at Annie and mouthing that it was Abed and she had an equally confused and intrigued look as he did.

"Hey, Jeff."

"Hey, Abed. What's up?" he asked, wondering what was up with the early morning phone call. With Abed it really could be anything.

"Is Annie with you?"

He looked over at her and she raised her brows, "Yeah she's here."

"I suspected. Her parents just called me."

Jeff frowned, "Ahh, sorry about that. She forgot her phone at their house before she came over here to hang out." He was still looking at Annie and she gave him a little smile in thanks for not saying anything else.

"Yeah, that's what they said. Annie's mom got high pitched when I told her Annie didn't come home. Then she told me to call her other friends to find her."

Jeff winced, "Sorry about that and that you had to bug the others. Can't see that being pleasant." Jeff could imagine both Shirley and Britta's annoyed but worried faces so early in the morning. He didn't give a crap if her mom got high pitched or not. Let her worry.

"No, I didn't. I called you first. It was the most logical place to look."

Jeff felt his face heat up a bit at that, "Oh. Okay. Good," he said awkwardly and Annie had a confused look again but he shook his head like it was nothing. "Well thanks, Abed, for letting us know. We'll take it from here."

"Cool. Cool cool cool. Tell Annie hi. And buy her pancakes. She likes pancakes." Then he hung up.

Jeff blinked slowly and then pushed the end button on his phone. He could never walk away after a conversation with Abed without feeling strange.

"Well? What's going on?" Annie asked impatiently, leaning up on one elbow so she was looking down at him.

"Your mom called Abed this morning asking for you," he answered, looking at her out of the corner of his eye wondering how she would take that. Annie's face fell at the mention of her mom and Jeff hated ruining the perfect morning they were in the middle of. "She asked him to call around and find out where you were."

"Oh," was all she said, looking down and picking at a loose thread in the comforter.

He had to fix this. He got up on one elbow facing her and gripped her shoulder tight in his hand, "Hey, it's okay. We'll just call them quick, tell them that we'll pick up your stuff later and then forget about them. We'll come back here and, I don't know, watch a movie or something. Hey! We'll even get stuff to make that caramel popcorn they used last night for one of those cakes. Yeah?" He was shaking her shoulder a bit and smiling at her all goofy and excited, trying to get that smile back on her face.

It worked. She smiled at him up through her lashes, "Yeah, okay. We can do that." She sighed, "Can I borrow your phone? Might as well get this over with."

She reached for his phone but he jerked it out of her reach at the last second, an idea hitting him, "No, it's okay. I can handle it. Just tell me the number."

Annie was shaking her head no at him, "It's fine, Jeff, I can do."

Jeff laid back down on his back and got comfortable, holding his phone in front of him and waiting for her to give him the number.

They stared each other down for a few moments before she caved and sighed, giving him the number. She gave him a guilty look as he raised the phone to his ear.

He winked at her when he heard a clink and a ladies voice answer hello, "Hi, Mrs. Edison?" He didn't wait for her to confirm, "This is Jeff Winger calling on the behalf of Annie. After walking all the way across town last night, alone, she came here. Crying. Of course I then took her in and let her stay with me since she declined to return for her belongings at your house, stating that there was conflict that she wasn't comfortable facing just yet." He was looking at Annie the entire time and her eyes were wide and her mouth open in shock, but she wasn't stopping him. So he just kept going, and it felt fantastic to take this kind of tone with Annie's parents, "Later on today, I don't know when, I will be stopping by to retrieve her things. If you could leave them inside the front door, that would be great. Just wanted to call and let you know the whereabouts of your _daughter_. Have a good day." And hung up.

Annie covered her mouth with her hand and fell back down to the bed next to him, on the verge of laughter. Jeff placed his phone on his chest and put his hands behind his head, smiling all smug and satisfied.

"I can't believe—" she pushed at his chest playfully and he laughed. "You just—Oh my gosh! I wish I could be that confident when talking to her. Did she even say anything?" Annie was up on both her elbows now, excited and bouncing.

Jeff smiled at her, "Nope."

Annie laughed and covered her face with her hands for a second then bounded off the bed in excitement, throwing the comforter off the both of them, "Come on! I'm hungry, lets get some breakfast." She shot him a smile over her shoulder as she headed out the door to the bathroom, "Get up, get dressed."

Jeff sat on the side of the bed, still feeling high from his talk with her mom, "How do pancakes sound?" he called out to her through the bathroom door.

"Oh, I love pancakes! Let's do that."

Jeff smiled to himself and went to get dressed.

* * *

><p>They had decided on Denny's and Annie had ended up texting the rest of the group out of guilt for doing something without them. Jeff had tried to convince her otherwise, that it was okay that it was just the two of them but she made a deal with him not to mention their plans for after breakfast and he had relented and let her text them. It was a relatively nice breakfast he had to admit. Abed didn't mention Annie not coming home outside of the initial question of whether she actually called her parent's or if he should be expecting another call from Annie's mother again later. She quickly said <em>yes I called<em>, and Jeff stepped in to change the subject. Abed had been looking at him funny ever since, but really, that wasn't far outside of the norm so he let it go. They had all sat in the restaurant long after their meals were finished just talking among themselves. It was times like that when Jeff was assured that they really were friends outside of college and that it wasn't the only thing tying them all together. He had nothing to worry about. They were family and you couldn't get rid of family.

They parted ways, with Jeff and Annie straggling behind the rest of them so they could leave together without any of them questioning what their plans were and if they were, heaven forbid, doing anything fun without the rest of them. It went smooth, if you didn't count the odd look Abed was giving Jeff through the passenger side window of Troy's car as they drove away. Jeff shook it off and headed to his own car with Annie, asking her if she wanted to go to the store first or if she wanted to bite the bullet and just go to her parent's house to get it over with.

Jeff didn't start the car, waiting patiently for her to make a decision. She took a deep breath, "I need my purse. Let's just do that first." She didn't look confident, but Jeff gave her a supportive smile and told her to lead the way.

It kinda sucked really, driving to their house and seeing how far Annie had really walked the night before. _She must have been desperate_, he thought, with a frown.

When she pointed the house out he pulled up out front, not bothering to park in the driveway where Annie's own car was sitting. It was a nice house; not too big but slightly above averaged. The neighborhood looked pretty friendly and he could see how a pill addiction wouldn't go over so well in a place like this.

Annie looked like she was going to be sick, staring out the window towards the house where he assumed she grew up. He couldn't imagine there being too many happy memories associated with the place.

Jeff nudged her arm with his elbow to get her attention away from the house and smiled at her, trying to act like this was no big deal, "It's going to be okay, I promise. Because after this we're going to go to the store and buy a giant bag of caramel and then veg out on sweet sugary popcorn all afternoon." He leaned down a bit to look at Annie's side window and up at the house. "Now, you stay here and I'll be right back."

"What? No way. I can't let you go alone." Annie unbuckled her seat belt with the intent of following him even with the look of dread on her face.

He reached over and grabbed one of her hands. "Hey," he said quietly and caught her eye, "I got this."

Her eyes were sad but she looked a bit relieved, despite her protest at him going. She nodded her head and didn't say anything more.

Jeff got out of the car and shook out his coat and made his way around the car to the little walkway leading up to the front door. His heart was beating quicker but not from nerves, it was more adrenaline at the possibility of meeting Annie's parent's. He wasn't there for a nice chit-chat though. He had one goal; get Annie's things and get out of there so they could get their nice day back on track.

He got to the door and knocked a few times. He would have liked to just open the door and peek inside to see if they actually left her bag by the door like he had asked but he didn't feel like getting yelled at for entering someone's home without permission. It didn't take long till he heard footsteps coming his way though, then the door opened and he got his first look at what he could only assume was Annie's mother. She was shorter like Annie with lighter brown hair pulled back in a clip at the top of her neck, wearing pressed khakis and a blue sweater. She _did not_ look pleased to see him.

Jeff gave her a pinched smile, "I'm here for Annie's things."

The lady in front of him set her jaw and crossed her arms. In one of her hands she was holding Annie's purse, and for a split second he imagined himself snatching the bag from her hands and running back down to the car, "You must be the other man I spoke to on the phone." Her voice had a hostile note to it.

Jeff didn't let it faze him, nodding the affirmative, "The one and only." Behind the lady he could see a man walking down the hall towards them and he sighed to himself. So he'd get the pleasure of meeting them both. The man reached them and stood behind his wife, taller and less threatening with his hands in his pockets. Besides her height he could see more of Annie in her father than in her mother.

"You must be Mr. Winger?" her dad asked, his eyebrows raised in question. His voice was soft and his eyes earnest. Jeff had to tamp down the urge to like the guy and he instantly knew where Annie got it from.

He nodded his head, "Jeff; your daughters friend. I'm just here for her things, then I'll be on my way."

The man looked around Jeff to his car in concern, "Is she with you?"

Jeff sighed, not wanting them to be bold enough to actually go over there and bug Annie, "Yeah, she's with me." He turned a bit to look over his shoulder at her sitting in the car looking at them with wide scared eyes and it solidified his need to make this quick and get the hell out of there.

When he turned back to the two in front of him he saw her mother giving him a hard stare, "Am I to assume Annie stayed with you last night?"

She was making it a little too easy for Jeff to not like her. He gave a smile that didn't reach anywhere near his eyes, "Yup. Because she's my friend and I care about her."

She gave him the side eye like she didn't trust him, "Oh really? And in what way do you care for my daughter?"

Jeff clenched his jaw, "In a better way than what I'm coming to understand you care for her."

"We love Annie," she said in a huff, lowering her arms and clenching her hands, "And want what's best for her. And that certainly doesn't include her staying with some _man_ twice her age."

Okay, Jeff took serious offense to that and was on the verge of saying something in his own defense but that wasn't why he was there and he needed to refocus. Taking a deep breath he let it fly, "Well, sometimes what's best is to let her find her own path and to follow her and support her; even if you don't agree with it. Because that's what a good parent is. Supportive and nonjudgmental." He kept his voice calm and low. He wasn't there looking for a fight but he sure as hell wasn't going to walk away without setting a few things straight. "Your daughter is an amazing student and an even better person, because she makes the people around her want to be better too. She's hard working and caring to a fault. For Annie's sake, it's pretty sad that you and your husband don't allow yourselves to see that and look past her mistakes. She deserves better from the two of you." He reached forward and took Annie's purse out of her mothers limp fingers. She was standing there staring at him in shock, not able to speak.

Annie's dad stepped forward before he could make an exit, looking intent and worried, "Can you please just...make sure she's alright?" He was looking over Jeff's shoulder, staring at his daughter.

Jeff took pity on him, "Trust me, I always do."

He gave them both one last look before taking a step back out the door and shutting it behind him. As he walked back down the walkway towards his car and Annie, he took a deep breath. She was looking at him through the window with concern and he gave her a reassuring smile.

He got in and placed her purse in her lap and she looked as if she were waiting for him to tell her bad news of something. "Well? You were up there a long time," she said, fidgeting in her seat.

He really hadn't been, it was only a few minutes but he could see how it might have seemed like forever to her, "Your parents and I had a nice chat." He leaned forward again to look out Annie's window and she did the same and they saw her mother standing at the front window with the curtain pulled back, looking at them sitting there. Annie looked away and back towards him and he could see her eyes had gotten glossy. He needed to just get them out of there. No reason sitting out in front of the house longer than they needed too. Jeff put the car in drive and left without a backwards glance.

Neither of them remembered that Annie's car was left sitting in the driveway.

It was quiet for a few blocks till he heard Annie ask quietly, "What did they say?"

Jeff waiting till he hit a stop light so he could turn to look at her, "Your dad was worried. Your mom...not the nicest woman. I got the strong feeling she didn't like me. I think a lot of it had to do with you staying with me last night."

Annie rolled her eyes at that, "Of course."

"Your dad just wanted to make sure you were okay," Jeff said softer. He wanted to give her something positive about his meeting with them and he figured it would go a long way for her to know that at least her father had his priorities somewhat in order that morning. The light turned and he drove on but glanced at her every so often.

Annie smiled sadly, "My dad's not like my mom. He's not assertive and he hates confrontation. I know he loves me, it's just...he never stood up for me. When mom would start laying into me...he would just stand there with his hands in his pockets, looking sad. Just once I wanted him to say something, anything in my defense. But he never did." She turned to look out her window, "I suppose I'm just as disappointed in them as they are in me."

"You know, I think it's pretty normal for kids to be disappointed in their parents from time to time," he gave her a crooked smile, "Let's just count our blessings that you don't have to live with them anymore."

Annie chuckled and nodded her agreement, "One nightmare I'm glad to be out of." She let out a huff and shook her hands as if washing herself of the situation, "Okay, enough talking about them. Let's pretend it never happened and go get sick on caramel popcorn."

"Now that's more like it," Jeff gave her a winning smile and held his hand out for a high five and just like that they were back on track again.

Crisis averted: two points to Winger.

* * *

><p><em>End note. Okay holy crap. I was finally able to watch the last episode of season 5 tonight...and HOLY CRAP. Be still my beating heart. I watched <strong>that scene<strong> about a dozen times. Season 6 (and a movie) can't come quick enough._


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